The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1887-10-12
The Land of Fulfilled Wishes.

a little bov who could turn from so
cheerful room, where the open fire
burned so brightly, so many pretty
pictures and toys to tempt hls fancy,
and such kind, rosy checked nurse
always ready to play with ilim or tell
him stories, to gaze obstjnately upon
the dripping brown-stone fronts and
muddy cutters of q city street must
have had rather discontented dlsposi-
ton.
But Bertie had set his heart upon
going to the Park that afternoon to see
Mr.. Crowley, the chimpanzee, and Miss
Murphy, the hippopotamus, sail IN
Lohengrin boats, and ride the donkeys.
and nothing else would satisfy him, al
though he knew the whole country was
suffering for want of the soft falling
rain that was coming down in such
gentle, persistent way.
"Oh, DEAR" he said again, II wish it
would never rain any more"
"Bertie, DEAR" said his mother, chow
many times within an hour have you
said I wish?'
Bertie looked up. Il don't know,
mamma; three or four times, | guess"
Thirteen" said his mother glavely;
"and each time have you wished for
something for yourself. Now, if every
one in each house did the same, and all
their wishes were granted, IN what sort
of confusion would the world be?'
Bertie thought this was very funny
idea. He came away from the window
and stretched himself out on the tiger
skin, laughing softly to himself as he
did so. he more he thought about
what his mother had said the more
comical it seemed to him. "How I
should like to see world like that"
he thought. Il wish fairy tales would
come true, just for once, and this tiger
skin would turn into magic carpet to
carry me anywhere I liked to go"
What? Why, had his wish been
granted? He tried to start up, but too
late; for the skin had risen from the
floor and, with Bertie still upon it, was
gliding easily through the still closed
window AID over the tops of all the
houses. Now they were just above
Central fark, and Dertie could see the
lake and the Mall and the great reser-
yoir far below him. Now he was borne
more swiftly through the air; he was
above the rain clouds, though he could
see the Hudson River below him, and
he thought to himself: ooh, I know;
we are going where the Catskill fairies
live, and the Culprit Fay and"
Just then the skin whirled around and
began descending so rapidly that Ber-
ties head grew dizzy, and for awhile he
did not know exactly what was passing
around him.
At length he felt slight shock, and
opening his eyes, he looked rather
curiouslv about him. Well, we'll, this
this was a strange world he had
tumbled into. Such queer figures,
houses, trees, and people BERTHE had
never dreamed of.
A very polite o!d man came up and
asked him whether he had come to live
in this country or whether he was
merely on q visit. Bertie answered
respectfully that he was quite a
stranger, not knowing even the name
of the country in which he found him
self so unexpectedly, but he would be
glad to know about it all that any one
could tell him.
"You are now in the Land of Fulfill
ed Wishes," answered the cd man.
"Hither come all those who on earth
waste their lives in wishing idly
/ for what is forbidden or withheld from
them. Some are sent here to learn
wisdom and cure them of their folly,
and some come to stay. Here every
wish is granted as soon as uttered, but
once made wish can not be recalled,
and no one is permitted to leave until
he has spent twenty-four hours with
out once saying 4 wish Perhaps,
young gentleman, you would like to
walk about little? I shall be most
happy to act as your guide. ?"
Bertie accepted this offer with many
many thanks, and stepping off the
tiger skin, which at once disappeared,
followed his guide.
He soon found that one of the most
uncomfortable things in this land was
the changeableness of the weather. 1t
never was the same for five minutes to-
gether. One moment some wished for
summer and holiday time, and the sun
would come out hot and warm; then
perhaps someone else would want skat-
ing and snowballing, and the weather
would change in second to freezing
cold. Directly, perhaps, some child
would wish for rain, so that he need
not go to school, and down would come
shower, possibly even thunder
storm. For, as every wish was in
stantly granted, the weather changed
as often as anyone expressed wish, so
that, if you only went out for five
minutes walk, you needed to carry
clothing suited to any of the four sea-
! sons.
In the course of his ramble Bertie
saw number Of queer people. There
was the old woman whose husband
wished pudding on the end of her
nose, and the little girl who wished she
need never learn to sew, and who, con-
sequentiy, had such holes and rips in
her dresses that everyone was ashamed
to be seen with her; the little boy who
wished he need never to have his face
washed, and who was really dreadful
to look at; his brother, who wished all
lesson books were burnt, and was now
very much ashamed, because he could
neither read, write, nor spell.
There, too, WAS boy, not much big
ger than Bertie, who wished to have q
headache, so that he need not 60 to
school, and who had such headache
that his head split in two.
| Rartia COW also the man without q